The success of the Nintendo Switch appears to be dwindling as of 2023, as Nintendo's profits lower to $6.6 billion (a 6.4% drop). Perhaps it's time for the hybrid console's rumored successor to show itself.
Debuting just over six years ago, the Nintendo Switch has gone on a sales rampage, becoming Nintendo's highest-selling home console of all time as well as its first system ever to surpass $1 billion in software sales. It's been aided by a gimmick that innovates rather than confuses, improved marketing, the notable ease at which to develop games for it, and of course a killer library of software. It marked a significant comeback for the company following four years struggles with the Wii U, whose lifetime sales the Switch would surpass in less than a year on the market. Sadly for Nintendo, few things in life are eternal.
As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, Nintendo's latest fiscal year, concluding in March 2023, was capped off with lower sales than predicted. The company had already predicted less sales than before, citing a semiconductor chip shortage and a post-lockdown sales decline that its competitors also experienced. In the latest report, the Switch sold 17.97 million units (a 22.1% drop) and grossed $11.8 billion in net sales (5.5% down from the prior year), although digital sales saw a 12.7% increase at $3 billion. A common pattern sees the Switch soaring in software sales even as hardware sales decline, but even that failsafe reported a 9% drop.
Following the report, Nintendo also stated its forecast for the next fiscal year, predicting a 9.4% drop in net sales and declines in hardware and software sales by 16.5% and 15.9%, respectively. However, it's also banking on upcoming AAA releases such as the hype-inducing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to keep it afloat, alongside other, older software such as the ever unstoppable Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. But with Switch versions of third-party games being delayed or even outright canceled a la Midnight Suns, it means that for the first time since the Wii U days, Nintendo would be relying mostly on its own output just to remain profitable.
While 125.62 million lifetime console sales is nothing to scoff at, many are stating that 2023 marks the beginning of the end for the Nintendo Switch. It can be presumed that Nintendo has held off on announcing a follow-up due to its enduring success in spite of its more powerful competition (it's even managed to outsell one of the consoles that sealed the Wii U's fate), but with declining numbers, the competition growing even more impressive graphically, and repeated rumblings of an impending successor announcement, it just might be time for a shake-up.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz